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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
So, this is a little disjointed - Huang definitely comes off as a smart but somewhat undisciplined writer, and in the process of keeping it real he going on tangents and has some pretty abrupt and hard-to-follow transitions. He's also cocky as hell, which I find annoying.
But it's a pretty interesting autobiography after all. He has a pretty rough childhood and kind of a messed up family. Interesting discussions of Asian identity, what it's like to be in a "model minority" group, having to deal with the racism that goes with it and simultaneously being expected to be well-behaved and high achieving. What it's like to be young and intelligent and enraged.
I can see why he's critical of the recent sitcom - there's a lot in this book that's not going to work at all on network tv, so I'm guessing it's way different and made palatable for the majority. Decent autobiography - not the best-written, but engaging and entertaining at least, even though he's kind of a huge jerk a lot of the time.
But it's a pretty interesting autobiography after all. He has a pretty rough childhood and kind of a messed up family. Interesting discussions of Asian identity, what it's like to be in a "model minority" group, having to deal with the racism that goes with it and simultaneously being expected to be well-behaved and high achieving. What it's like to be young and intelligent and enraged.
I can see why he's critical of the recent sitcom - there's a lot in this book that's not going to work at all on network tv, so I'm guessing it's way different and made palatable for the majority. Decent autobiography - not the best-written, but engaging and entertaining at least, even though he's kind of a huge jerk a lot of the time.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
I just really enjoyed reading this book. It's enhanced, I think, if you've watched the TV show, though it's quite different. (As one example, in the book, both Eddie and his father tend to be pretty violent; the father is an actual semi-reformed gangster, and Eddie gets kicked out of one school after another for fighting.) I also didn't realize until partway through the book that the real Eddie (the author of this book) is the owner of a pretty successful NYC restaurant called Baohaus. So this book is actually part food memoir in addition to the memoir of a hip-hop-loving Chinese kid growing up in Florida.
It can be a little raw, but I appreciated the blunt style because it felt authentic. Eddie seems like he grew into a pretty cool guy, and I'd let him cook for me any day. Or better yet, let him take me to Taiwan to experience Taiwanese street food.
It can be a little raw, but I appreciated the blunt style because it felt authentic. Eddie seems like he grew into a pretty cool guy, and I'd let him cook for me any day. Or better yet, let him take me to Taiwan to experience Taiwanese street food.
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
essential reading for any Asian-American who ever watched the ABC show. I will venture to say that this is almost entirely different from said show, but don't get it twisted: that's a good thing.
there were parts of this book that were grating, which is partially because of Huang's colloquial turns of speech and slang. but for the most part, the narrative of his life and the unabashedly honest way he describes every component of his life resonated deeply with me as a Vietnamese-American who grew up in the South. he doesn't shy away from the way that growing up in white spaces made him feel. the anger with whiteness that he feels, the way he was affected by it, is palpable.
perhaps the most fascinating thing the show erased from this memoir is the extremely close relationship Huang has with his brothers. he dedicates the book to them. Evan is the one who helps him bring his restaurant off the ground, vouching for him when his parents wouldn't, and Emery helps him fight back and was a constant companion in his formative Floridian youth. it's not to say that in the show the dynamic between Huang and his brothers was entirely diluted, but there is a special and damn near umbreakable bond that growing up with abuse and violence will grant to a group of siblings, especially in an immigrant family. I found that familiar solidarity here, not in the (by comparison) light-hearted and more strictly sitcom-styled show with teenagers characterized by more traditional American sibling stereotypes. wishing once again that the studio that approached Huang with the show deal was HBO. this is an honest book about finding your identity in a world that, more often than not, tries to generalize you and categorize you by a set of traits and assumptions. Huang implores us to go after what we want and deserve because we're more than what anyone could possibly think of us.
thanks, man. here's to every Asian kid from the South who wants to create and bring something new to the table. it's moreso about finding fulfillment in this life than about anything else.
there were parts of this book that were grating, which is partially because of Huang's colloquial turns of speech and slang. but for the most part, the narrative of his life and the unabashedly honest way he describes every component of his life resonated deeply with me as a Vietnamese-American who grew up in the South. he doesn't shy away from the way that growing up in white spaces made him feel. the anger with whiteness that he feels, the way he was affected by it, is palpable.
perhaps the most fascinating thing the show erased from this memoir is the extremely close relationship Huang has with his brothers. he dedicates the book to them. Evan is the one who helps him bring his restaurant off the ground, vouching for him when his parents wouldn't, and Emery helps him fight back and was a constant companion in his formative Floridian youth. it's not to say that in the show the dynamic between Huang and his brothers was entirely diluted, but there is a special and damn near umbreakable bond that growing up with abuse and violence will grant to a group of siblings, especially in an immigrant family. I found that familiar solidarity here, not in the (by comparison) light-hearted and more strictly sitcom-styled show with teenagers characterized by more traditional American sibling stereotypes. wishing once again that the studio that approached Huang with the show deal was HBO. this is an honest book about finding your identity in a world that, more often than not, tries to generalize you and categorize you by a set of traits and assumptions. Huang implores us to go after what we want and deserve because we're more than what anyone could possibly think of us.
thanks, man. here's to every Asian kid from the South who wants to create and bring something new to the table. it's moreso about finding fulfillment in this life than about anything else.
This was nothing I expected going in but everything I didn’t know I needed. This amazingly honest memoir takes you on the real journey of Eddie Huang. It’ll leave you enlightened and hungry. If you loved the show you’ll love this book.
Would work better for me if I was more of a foodie, or perhaps was like 10 years younger haha. Other people might like it though.
Just not into it. Smart kid with jerky parents acts irresponsibly and usually thinks it's funny. Lots of slang.
Loving everything about it... though it's definitely not for everyone.
Brilliant mash-up of observation, language, crassness and insight, as well as hip-hop, boobs, aesthetics, cookery. It's a Hot Pot of Life through a strobe-like fast-paced prism of introspection and Ever-The-F***ing-Outsider experience.
Review brewing in my mind... More later. 5/2/2015
Brilliant mash-up of observation, language, crassness and insight, as well as hip-hop, boobs, aesthetics, cookery. It's a Hot Pot of Life through a strobe-like fast-paced prism of introspection and Ever-The-F***ing-Outsider experience.
Review brewing in my mind... More later. 5/2/2015
3.5 - there were parts of this book that really reached me, but a lot of it was out of my grasp.
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced